


I Promise I'm Not Listening

by orphan_account



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Abusive Relationship, Denial, Language, M/M, Protective!Raven - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-26
Updated: 2014-07-26
Packaged: 2018-01-15 22:14:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1321135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles thinks he's found "The One." Raven isn't as confident in his choices.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure about this. Might give it up unless someone thinks it's worth a shot.

Raven couldn't understand it. Sure, she was always nothing but supportive of any of Charles' relationships that were more than a one-night stand, but this latest one gave her the chills. She couldn't explain it, but from the beginning something had felt _off_ about Tyler. Raven didn't want to raise a fuss for nothing, though, since this was the first one Charles had dated for more than a week. "I think he's The One, Raven," Charles sighed one day.

Charles often spoke of The One, the one person who he believed was the one for him, the person who, if they got to know each other well enough, he could talk to about his telepathy. Raven could empathize; she was looking for a special someone of her own that she could be herself around. How many times had she begged Charles to erase the memories of an ex who didn't respond kindly to her blue form? But she wasn't sure if Tyler was The One. Charles had thought Jessica was The One before he found out she was dating two other guys besides him. Then there was Lucas, who turned out to be a married man. And Michael, who decided he wasn't gay after all and left Charles to deal with a gang of homophobes by himself. And Lizzie, a typical gold-digger. And Leo, and Max, and Karen, all of whom Charles claimed were ruined for him due to his telepathy. So Raven merely responded with a noncommittal hum when Charles claimed Tyler was The One.

Frankly, Raven was tired of hearing about "Tyler this" and "Tyler that", but she kept quiet because very few things in life made Charles happy, and Tyler seemed to be one of them at the moment. Not to mention Charles always listened to her rave about her latest flavor-of-the-month.

Charles and Tyler had been an item for almost two months when things started to change. Raven had come home to a silent brother, very unusual, because Charles was quite the chatterbox most days. It used to bother Raven, but nowadays it was just a soothing background noise for her. A quiet Charles made his presence known as if he'd screamed at her. When Raven asked what was wrong, he mumbled, "Tyler and I got into an argument."

He looked so miserable that Raven pulled him into a hug and stayed with him until he fell asleep. By the next day, Charles was back to his usual outrageously energetic self. He and Tyler had obviously made up and all was well ( Raven was _not_ going to think about her brother having make-up sex). Raven thought nothing of it. Couples fought all the time; it was natural.

A week later, however, Raven walked in on an intense argument. Neither Charles nor Tyler seemed to notice she was there.

Charles was insisting that "-she's just a friend, she's struggling in Psychology!"

"That's funny, you two looked awfully cozy together," Tyler retorted. "I thought we had something good together, Charles! You said you loved me!"

"We do!" Charles insisted, his eyes wide in distress. "I do still love you, Tyler. There's nothing going on between me and Darcy, I swear! It was just a tutoring-"  
 **SMACK!**

There was a shocked silence, then Raven leaped into action. "That was uncalled for!" she yelled, stepping in between the two. "Don't you ever hit him again! Get out!"

Tyler's eyes widened. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

"Get out!" Raven snapped again. Tyler backed out of the apartment and fled. Raven angrily slammed the door behind him. She turned to Charles, and her gaze softened instantly. "Are you okay?" she asked gently.

Charles raised a hand to his face and rubbed the spot where Tyler had just slapped him, a dazed look on his face. "It- it didn't really hurt, not that much, but- he's never done that before," he murmured in bewilderment.

Raven raged in her mind. That ass-hole had actually dared hurt her brother! She'd destroy him! She'd morph into him and ruin his social life!

"Raven," Charles said quietly, a pained look in his eyes. "You're broadcasting. Very loudly. Please calm yourself."

"Sorry," Raven mumbled.

"He really was sorry," Charles added brightly. "I could feel it."

"Charles, he hit you!" Raven hissed.

"And I'm sure he won't do it again," Charles said with a sad smile. "It's okay."

 _No it's not okay!_ Raven wanted scream, then realized she was probably screaming that in his mind, so she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. It wasn't okay in her books, but Charles could be right. This could have been a one-time issue. Raven would have to wait and see.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles thinks he has found the common problem with his past relationships and proceeds to eliminate it. Raven thinks he has created a bigger problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my Raven is slightly different from movie!Raven, especially regarding her attitude towards Charles' telepathy. 
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> Please mind the warnings.

 

 It hit Charles out of the blue. Well, not precisely out of the blue. It took another argument with Tyler for Charles to realize.

**********

Charles had stopped to chat with the professor after class, so naturally he was a little late to meet Tyler for lunch. Tyler was seething when he caught up to Charles outside the café where they had agreed to meet.

"Where have you been?" Tyler demanded. "You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago!"

_Waiting all alone, this is ridiculous, doesn't he know not to waste my time? Lucky I'm still here. Still hungry..._

"Sorry," Charles said with a sheepish smile. "I had a few questions for the professor after class. I'm sorry you wasted valuable time waiting for me. Do you still have time to eat?"

_What the fuck? Took the words right out of my mouth, like usual! So irritating._

"I have fifteen minutes before I have to head back!" Tyler snapped. "I don't like having to rush myself eating!"

Tyler shoved Charles roughly toward the door of the café. Once inside, his mood improved slightly when he found out the table he had just left in a fit of rage was still available. They sat down, Tyler still simmering with anger, and Charles deep in thought. One of Tyler's errant thoughts kept echoing over and over in Charles' head. _Took the words right out of my mouth!_ Was this the problem with all his past relationships, then? Was Charles unconsciously catching people's stray thoughts and responding to them before they'd had a chance to voice them out loud? Dear God, had he been unknowingly doing this to Raven all these years? Why had she never complained? Charles was torn between guilt and excitement. Guilt, because of all the people he must have wronged in the past in this manner, and excitement because he now had a chance to nip this problem in the bud before it ruined what he had with Tyler.

"Charles!" Tyler growled in irritation.

Startled, Charles blinked up at the waitress, who had her pen poised on the pad of paper. "Oh, ah, whatever he's having," Charles told her. She scribbled the order down and walked away, hollering at the cook as she went.

_Took the words right out of my mouth!_

Charles stared at Tyler. At the moment, Tyler's mind was focused on the time and how long it would take to make up their food order. For a moment, the idle thought crossed Tyler's mind of maybe calling in sick before it was dismissed. Then Tyler noticed how silent his partner was, and concern filled his mind.

"Charlie, baby, you're not mad at me, are you?" he asked.

 _"Me?_ Mad at you?" Charles said in puzzlement.

"I didn't mean to snap at you," Tyler apologized. "I was just a little frustrated." _Love him. Don't want to lose him. Didn't mean to get mad..._

Charles shook his head. "I'm not mad," he said.

Relief colored Tyler's thoughts and it was then that Charles made up his mind.

**********

"Okay, what's wrong?" Raven sighed.

Charles frowned. "Wrong?" he echoed. "What on earth makes you think something's wrong?"

"You aren't babbling about some boring aspect of your thesis, or the newest theory in genetics, or biology, or anything really," Raven said as she put the last of their dinner dishes away. "You and what's-his-name didn't get into another fight, did you? Did he hurt you again? If he did, I'll-"

"His name is Tyler, and no, we haven't been fighting," Charles said defensively. He idly fiddled with the tablecloth, straightening it, then repositioning, then straightening it once more.

Raven laid her palms flat on the table to keep him from moving it again and looked up at him. "Talk to me," she said quietly.

"Do I take the words out of your mouth?" Charles blurted out.

Raven was confused by the question, but seeing the serious look in his eyes, she realized the answer was important to him. "I'm sorry, what?" she asked.

"Do I answer questions before you've asked them? Do I address certain thoughts before you've voiced them out loud?" Charles clarified.

"Sometimes," Raven admitted, feeling a sense of foreboding. She wasn't sure she liked where this conversation was heading.

"I'm so, so sorry!" Charles exclaimed. "I didn't realize I was doing it! It must have been so frustrating for you when I pulled the thoughts right out of your head. And I've only just realized I was doing it. I wasn't doing it on purpose, I promise! I can stop, I know I can! And I will, for you and Tyler!"

"Wait," Raven cut in, before his babbling could stop making sense to her. She was barely making sense of it now. Her mind raced, going through everything her panic-stricken brother had just said and trying to figure out which issue needed to be addressed first. "You're upset because you've picking up people's thoughts? And you think that's wrong? Charles, you're a telepath! It's a part of you."

"No!" Charles exclaimed. "I've been responding to those thoughts before people have a chance to voice them!"

Was that all? Raven was relieved, but why was he blowing this out of proportion? It was unlike him. "Charles," Raven said with all the patience she could muster up, "if you think you've done something wrong to me, then fine. I forgive you. Better?"

Charles smiled sadly. "Thank you for that," he said, "but I can't keep doing this. I need to shut Tyler out so I don't ruin this with my telepathy the way I ruined my other relationships."

There were so many things wrong with that statement, but again, Raven had to prioritize. "Charles, telepathy didn't ruin _all_ your relationships," she pointed out. "The others were at fault a good portion of the time. And what do you mean by 'shut Tyler out?' Can you really shut your telepathy off?"

"I don't need to shut off my telepathy off," Charles explained. "I just need to block one person's thoughts out, which takes considerably less effort than if I tried to block everything out. I'm lucky I caught this now, before I ended up scaring Tyler away."

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea," Raven replied. "What if hearing his thoughts saves your life one day? He's already hurt you once-"

"That was an isolated incident!" Charles insisted. "It won't happen again! Tyler isn't like that! If I block out his thoughts, we can be a normal couple."

"Is that what you want?" Raven asked. "To be normal?"

Charles shook his head. "I want my relationship to be normal," he said.

Raven thought about that for a moment. She was still wary of Tyler- she didn't think this was one of Charles' brighter ideas, but still-

"I'll be supportive in this under only one condition," said Raven.

"Anything you want," Charles said with a relieved smile.

"If you're going to block Tyler out, then I want you to block me out as well," said Raven.

His smile faded slightly, and he hesitated for a moment, before finally saying, "Fine. I'll block both of you out."

"And the moment you stop blocking him out, then you can stop blocking me out as well," Raven added, trying to push down the feeling of triumph. She was sure this was just the incentive Charles needed to give up on the silly idea of needing to block specific people out. All Charles needed was time to see that.

"I promise I'll stay out of both of your heads," Charles said solemnly. "I think envisioning a wall between me and you ought to do the trick." He raised a hand to his temple and his eyes glazed over.

A moment later, Raven felt strange, like something vital was missing. She hadn't realized how accustomed she had grown to her brother's presence in her mind. She felt cold, and a mild feeling of panic stole over her, as if someone had forcibly taken away her security blanket.

She wasn't the only one who felt different. Charles was staring at her like he'd never seen her before.

"Charles?" she said quietly. "Did it work?"

"It's strange," Charles said in wonder. "I can see you standing right in front of me, but I can't feel you at all. You're like a ghost- you're there, but at the same time, you're not. It's a bit creepy." He shuddered and took a step back.

"Charles, I've changed my mind," Raven said at once. She didn't like this. "You don't have to stay out of my mind."

Charles shook his head. "I need to get used to this," he said. "If I can't tolerate blocking you out, I certainly won't be able to do it for Tyler. Thank you for supporting me in this, Raven. "

Before Raven could protest, he turned and headed for his bedroom. Raven stared after him, already regretting what she had just done. She hoped Charles would come to his senses about this soon. There was an empty space in her mind that she was desperate to have filled again.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait. I discovered Tumblr! Is that a good enough excuse?

 After spending almost a full day at home with Raven, Charles had started to grow accustomed to the there-but-not-there feeling. Accustomed, but not comfortable with it. He hadn't realized how many times a day he unconsciously reached out for his sister's mind just to reassure himself. He was sure Raven was thoroughly annoyed with him by now.

First thing he did upon waking up the morning after setting up the wall between her mind and his was to reach out to feel her familiar presence. When he didn't feel it, he quickly stumbled out of bed and made a beeline for her bedroom. In his panic, he tripped so many times and made so much racket that Raven was very much awake by the time he reached her room. He had stared at her for a moment, then mumbled an awkward good morning before making a quick retreat to the bathroom.

Breakfast was full of yet more awkwardness. As he was eating, Charles could not take his eyes off of Raven. It was an alien sensation- seeing her, but not feeling her. Charles stared at her as she read the morning paper, absent-mindedly shifting into the forms of anyone whose picture happened to be featured in the paper. He quickly turned his attention to his breakfast when she put the paper down and settled into her blue form while she ate, but he couldn't help stealing glances at her when she wasn't looking. The silence in the kitchen was deafening.

After breakfast, he washed the dishes while she dried, and they chattered about nothing in particular, just making small talk. This calmed him down somewhat, as it alleviated the silence ever so slightly. But then he sat down to study and found he could not concentrate at all. Every five minutes or so, he had to get up and check on her. Then she sat down on the couch and turned on the television. Charles sat down next to her with his books and found he could concentrate better with her next to him.

They were both calm for the next couple hours, but then Raven had to get ready for work. It took all the willpower Charles possessed not to camp outside the bathroom door while she took a shower. Yes, he was aware of how creepy that was, thank you very much, but that didn't help matters at all. He settled for straining his ears to listen to the sounds of her getting ready, all the while wondering how he was going to survive this.

Charles tried to tell himself this was good for him, good for them both. It was good training for him, and it had been a while since he had needed any training in his gift, or _thought_ he needed training that is. Perhaps he was growing too arrogant in his abilities over time. And Raven didn't need someone piggy-backing in her mind- like some sort of leech- whether she noticed it or not.

Charles disliked the there-but-not-there sensation, but he had already made the commitment, so he found himself almost dreading meeting up with Tyler the next day, and at the same time feeling guilty about dreading it.

 

**********

 

Charles tried not to fidget when he saw Tyler. Fidgeting always made Tyler think Charles was bored with him, which always led to an argument so heated that the mental backlash often left Charles exhausted.

"I've missed you," Charles said quietly.

Tyler's mood quickly changed from sullen and impatient to happy and excited.

"Missed you, too," Tyler admitted.

"How was work?" Charles asked.

As Charles knew he would, Tyler immediately launched into a lengthy tirade about his co-workers and his boss. Charles lost no time in taking advantage of his distraction. Like with Raven, he envisioned a large stone wall encasing Tyler's mind, a soundproof wall Charles couldn't hear through. Due to his experience with Raven, the process was quicker this time, and the shield dropped into place immediately. Tyler's thoughts were cut off instantly, and Charles could no longer feel Tyler's annoyance, only hear it in his voice. And like with Raven, it was like looking at a ghost. If he hadn't been looking directly at him, Charles would have assumed Tyler wasn't even there.

Tyler started steering Charles toward a bar, and when they walked inside, Charles stiffened, then whirled around in panic, calming down when he saw that Tyler was still beside him.

"Are you all right?" Tyler asked in concern.

Without the usual accompanying thoughts following the statement, it took Charles a moment to realize Tyler was addressing _him._ "I- I'm fine. I don't know what just happened there," Charles said shakily.

"Why don't you sit down, and I'll get us some drinks?" Tyler suggested, gently guiding Charles to an empty corner.

Charles sat down and tried not to panic again as he watched Tyler disappear into the crowd. Charles could feel every mind here _except_ Tyler's, and it was disconcerting. He could almost believe he was hallucinating- or maybe he _was_ hallucinating. _Did_ he come here with Tyler? Charles couldn't see or feel him at all. What was he doing here?

_So bored! This guy is so cheap!_

_She's looking at me. Maybe she'll come over here._

_Oh my God, I'm really going home with him!_

_I should go. I've had way too much, and I have a meeting tomorrow._

_Gonna be sick._

_Ohh, this chick is soo wasted, it's my lucky day._

Charles bit his lip and struggled not to break down here in front of everyone. He felt so many minds here, but not the one he wanted to feel, and exhaustion was slowly creeping up on him...

"Charles? Charles! Look at me!"

Tyler! There he was, right in front of Charles. Or was he? Charles couldn't feel him. Maybe Charles came here alone and was now so wasted he was hallucinating. A pair of hands gripped his shoulders and gave him a slight shake.

"Charles, snap out of it!"

That felt real. Sort of. Physically, it felt real, but- Charles took a deep, shuddering breath. Right, this was similar to how it was with Raven. Charles just had to get used to it, and then he'd be fine. Tyler was a wonderful person, Charles had to do whatever he needed to do to keep him.

"Tyler, can we- can we go somewhere... go somewhere... quieter..."

"Of course we can, if it'll make you feel better."

Was that relief in Tyler's voice? Charles glanced at Tyler's face to confirm it. Yes, it was relief. Charles silently committed the tone of voice and accompanying facial expression to memory for future reference.

 _Baby steps,_ Charles thought. Baby steps...

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
